Pittsburg, PA
10 things to do this weekend in Pittsburgh, from the Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show to the Happy New Yinz Party
What’s going on in Pittsburgh this weekend, Jan. 9-12? Find out here. Know of a cool event? Email us.
Thursday, Jan. 9-Sunday, Jan. 12: “Funny Girl” at the Benedum Center
Various times
Tap your toes into 2025 with one of the high points of the new PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh season. The iconic musical (which starred Barbra Streisand when it debuted on Broadway in 1964) is only here for a limited one-week engagement, so don’t miss your chance to sing along to “I’m the Greatest Star” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” Starring Hannah Shankman, the semi-biographical story explores the life of comedian and Broadway star Fanny Brice. Follow unstoppable Fanny, from her childhood on NYC’s Lower East Side to pursuing her dreams on the stage.
The creative team reads like a who’s who of powerhouse award winners, with a score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, an updated book from Harvey Fierstein based on the original classic by Isobel Lennart and choreography by Ellenore Scott. Directed by Michael Mayer, the production showcases tap choreography by Ayodele Casel. Best experienced live, the bittersweet comedy celebrates resilience, ambition and self-acceptance. Tickets.
Friday, Jan. 10: Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT) Symposium at Phipps Conservatory
9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Southwestern PA is home to the most local governments per capita in the country, and this first-of-its-kind symposium is dedicated to the wellbeing of government workers. The event was designed in response to a study by Eagle Hill Consulting showing that 41% of government employees experience burnout, 86% of whom reported health and wellness as the area most impacted by their job.
Representatives from the City of Pittsburgh plus 40 surrounding municipalities will gather to recharge, connect with nature and make meaningful connections with local officials. Sessions will help public sector professionals adopt holistic self-care practices, identify common public policy challenges and implement innovative solutions. Highlights include a resource fair, a garden dance party & “friendraiser” and a luncheon launching the Joni Schwager Champion of Mental Health in Local Government Award. Register.
Friday, Jan. 10, & Saturday, Jan. 11: “Collective Dreaming” at Artists Image Resource
6-9 p.m. & 12-3 p.m.
After a chance meeting in 2022, the Pittsburgh-based #notwhite collective and Denver’s Los Fantasmas have come together to create a multi-format artistic partnership. During a two-year collaboration, 20 featured artists from the two collectives “met virtually to share and discuss artistic and cultural practices,” leading to a national series exploring the concept of collectively dreaming. The project was launched in August 2024 at Yolia ArtSpace in Englewood, Colorado, with a group exhibition hosted by Los Fantasmas.
The Denver collective makes its Pittsburgh debut with the second group exhibition, where work by Indigenous, Chicano and Raza-identifying artists will be on view at AIR. Free opening weekend events include an artist reception with music by Geña y Peña and DJ SMI on Friday night, followed by a printmaking workshop on Saturday afternoon. The local installment is augmented by a four-month showcase of work at Sidewall in Bloomfield. The project concludes with a round table discussion, Collective Visibility: Conversations on Art, Identity and Community in the U.S., on Feb. 11 at Carlow University. Information.
Find more art events in our new monthly series, NEXT in the Gallery
Friday, Jan. 10: 21+ Night: Happy New Yinz at Carnegie Science Center
6–10 p.m.
Get ready to exclaim Happy New Year in your best yinzer accent. Head dahn to the Science Center to welcome 2025 with all things 412. Meet entertainer Joe Long, creator of the viral characters “Don and Deb,” City of Pittsburgh archivist Charles Succop and Fred Rogers Productions Chief Creative Officer Ellen Doherty. Wear your finest black and gold garments to charm the audience during Pittsburgh-themed Quiplash games led by Loose Cannon Comedy. Design the city’s next bridge (because 446 is never enough!), see artifacts from Carnegie Museum of Natural History and make prints with The Andy Warhol Museum. Play musical parking chairs, pierogi corn hole and mini golf featuring Pittsburgh icons and music. Tickets.
Saturday, Jan. 11: Orchid and Tropical Bonsai Show: A Moment of Beauty at Phipps
9:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Appreciate the beauty in each moment and take a tropical daycation at Phipps. The all-new lush oasis showcases a vast variety of entrancing and ephemeral specimens. Be immersed in kaleidoscopic colors and journey through a collection of classically trained tropical bonsai. Encounter exquisite orchid blooms, stroll through butterfly sculptures and check out the stunning Kokedama displays. Read more about the exhibit in NEXT. Tickets.
Saturday, Jan. 11, & Sunday, Jan. 12: Pittsburgh RV Show at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Various hours
Daydreaming about your next road trip? Pittsburghers with wanderlust will love the country’s longest-running indoor RV Show, which rolls into the convention center for nine days. Spanning 350,000 square feet, it’s your go-to spot for the year’s biggest selection, lowest prices and best manufacturer incentives. Leading dealers will be on site displaying a staggering array of 400 RVs. Compare the latest models, try out RV accessories and get pro tips from industry experts. Read more about the RV Show in NEXT. Tickets.
Saturday, Jan. 11: Karl Mullen: A Clarion Call at ZYNKA Gallery
5-8 p.m.
ZYNKA Gallery, a hub for contemporary art in the region, kicks off the new year with an exhibition featuring a Dublin-born artist with deep Pittsburgh roots. See Karl Mullen’s collection of paintings, sculptures and mixed-media works explore the intersection of figurative and abstract forms at the free opening reception in Sharpsburg.
The artist provides some context and a hint at what viewers will experience: “We are all bombarded nonstop with bad news, insufferable political jockeying, advertisements for things we do not need and the inhuman acceleration of daily life. And so I paint, mark make and create images, not only as a refuge but a bulwark against an avalanche of lies and despair.” While living in Pittsburgh from 1976 to 2004, Mullen was a catalytic figure within the city’s art and music scenes. Information.
Saturday, Jan. 11: Jim Jefferies at Heinz Hall
7 p.m.
Australian comedian, actor and writer Jim Jefferies brings his new worldwide tour, Son of a Carpenter, to the Cultural District for just one night. Known for his brand of thought-provoking comedy, Jefferies has created more than 10 stand-up specials, including shows for Netflix and Comedy Central, while also makes the rounds at international comedy festivals. He has also appeared in films and TV shows, including the FX series, “Legit,” which he co-wrote, produced and starred in. Tickets.
Sunday, Jan. 12: Women’s Mixer: Fight the Sunday Scaries at Spirit
4-8 p.m.
Pittsburgh Girls Who Walk and Nerd Nite Pittsburgh team up to help us banish the Sunday Scaries with speed friending, pizza and games. The night starts with attendees rotating around in small social groups every 10 minutes. The goal is to create a welcoming house party vibe, where attendees can discover mutual connections and meet new people. After speed friending, City of Play will host party games such as Telestrations, Codenames and Monikers. Proceeds from the event, which is open to female-identifying guests, will support Girls Who Code. Tickets.
Sunday, Jan. 12: Full Wolf Moon Night Hike on Mount Washington
5-7 p.m.
Explore one of Pittsburgh’s most popular designations illuminated by the Wolf Moon. Welcome the first full moon of 2025 — named after howling wolves and also dubbed the Moon After Yule and Ice Moon — during this moderate, 4-mile hike led by Venture Outdoors. While traversing hillsides, twisting trails and beautiful vistas of Emerald View Park, you’ll learn about the continuous 257 acres of hilly woods surrounding the scenic neighborhood. Previous hiking experience is required. Meet the group at the Olympia Park parking lot (across from 510 Hallock St.). Tickets.
Find more things to do in Pittsburgh with NEXT, including live music, outdoor recreation and family activities, plus our new monthly guide to local art, NEXT in the Gallery.
Pittsburg, PA
Parent group claims Pittsburgh Public Schools’ closure plan violates children’s civil rights
The Pittsburgh Public Schools board of education has been under intense scrutiny since its “Future Ready Plan” was first introduced — and then eventually approved — in late May. But a group of parents has filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission in an effort to prevent it from being carried out.
Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization, along with 412 Justice and the Education Rights Network, have filed a complaint against the school board on behalf of five PPS students, claiming the plan, which will close or repurpose several district buildings across the city, violates those students’ civil rights.
Those students represented in the complaint attend Miller Pre K-5 in the Hill District, Manchester Pre K-8 on the North Side and Woolslair Pre K-5 in Bloomfield, all of which would close under the plan, with the students relocating.
“This is part of what we’ve seen across the country, this national school closure crisis,” said Adaku Onyeka-Crawford, a staff attorney and director of education justice for Advancement Project. “We’ve seen it play out in urban, suburban and rural communities, affecting Black and brown children, and it has come to Pittsburgh.”
The complaint is calling for an investigation into the plan and for the district and school board to act in good faith during that investigation. They hope it will lead to a preliminary injunction, allowing the commission to get a court order for the district to stop the implementation of the plan.
One of the main claims in the complaint is that the school board “based school closure decisions on utilization (enrollment divided by building capacity), despite being notified that doing so would disproportionately close schools in Black neighborhoods. Black students make up 62% of students that will lose their schools, but only 49% of students district-wide.”
“Utilization has no ties to education quality at all,” said Onyeka-Crawford. “In fact, smaller class sizes are tied to better outcomes for students. Community members had flagged that relying on this metric would disproportionately harm Black students.”
Onyeka-Crawford said alternatives were presented to the school board, some that have had success in other cities, but the district went forward with their own plan instead.
“We need to ask: who is Pittsburgh Public Schools and the board accountable to?” she said. “It’s the parents and families, and if this is what parents and families are asking for, it’s up to them to be accountable to those communities, and give parents and students the education and resources that they need.”
KDKA reached out to the district, but it said it will not comment on pending litigation.
It’s going to be another hot week in the Pittsburgh area with high temperatures back into the 90s.
Any Alert Days Ahead? I have us hitting 90 degrees starting on Tuesday through Friday, so that stretch of 4 days are First Alert Weather Days. A severe storm setup looks to be in place for Saturday, so we may also see a FAWD issued for Saturday.
Aware: So far this year, we have seen five 90° days. Tuesday may be our 6th of the year.
Heat index values today are expected to be in the mid-90s, near 100 degrees.
The hottest days of the week will be on Wednesday & Thursday. I have both days seeing highs at 92°.
Rain chances start to tick back up on Friday, late in the afternoon. I have Friday highs still hitting 90, with highs in just the mid-80s on Saturday and Sunday.
There still remains a concern for severe weather on Saturday, with all the ingredients in place. Right now, the chance looks low due to morning rain keeping instability numbers low.
Congress again considering making Daylight Saving Time year-round
I am not surprised that the U.S. Congress is taking up making Daylight Saving Time standard year-round again. The Sunshine Protection Act is the latest attempt by Congress to solve the issue of time and daylight. It’s a plan that you may not realize has been attempted before, and people disliked it so much that it didn’t even last a year.
Let’s start with a brief history of changes to the clock and what we will call Daylight Saving Time. Before World War 1, there was very little in the way of guidelines for states to follow when it came to time. WWI changed things, as the government dictated that Daylight Saving Time be in effect until the war was over in the hopes of conserving energy. Farmers were glad after the war to see the changes come to an end because the later sunrise in the winter meant less time to get out in the fields and get produce to market. Overall, the move to permanent DST was seen as unpopular.
The next big push for DST came during World War 2, and again, the reason for the change was the conservation of energy. Franklin Roosevelt, the president, called year-round DST ‘war-time.’ Once again, after the war, states were allowed to do their own thing. There remained no real federal policy on DST through 1966. That all changed in 1966 with the passing of the Uniform Time Act, signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. This put into effect a mix of daylight saving time and standard time, similar to what we have today; standard time lasted around 3 months longer than what we have today.
Our next energy crisis came in 1967 with the worldwide oil embargo by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Nations (OAPEC). Our Congress decided to try out a year-round DST across the country. They put the trial period beginning at the start of 1974 and going through the spring of 1975. What could go wrong, right? Well, everything. The public hated the changes, and even worse, nearly 10 kids were killed in early morning hours that first winter period due to low visibility. A program that was supposed to last just two winter seasons was cancelled before we even got to the second winter.
It appears to be a big push again to get Congress to push for permanent Daylight Saving Time hours. I hope they are considering the impact on everyone. For Pittsburgh, that would mean sunrise on some days in the winter around 9 a.m. Sunsets during that time would still be before 6 p.m. The issue is that during the wintertime, Pittsburgh only has around nine and a half hours of ‘daylight.’ We have to figure out the best way to align our clocks to that time. I think what we are doing right now is pretty close to perfect. What do you think?
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh files lawsuit against fire truck companies over alleged anticompetitive schemes
-
Indiana2 minutes agoIHSAA football: 10 sleeper teams to watch in Central Indiana for the 2026 season
-
Iowa8 minutes agoCan Tre Singleton fill familiar role for Iowa State basketball? | Hines
-
Kansas14 minutes agoGrades for Chiefs’ offseason reset, from free agency haul to Taylor Swift aura
-
Kentucky20 minutes agoEvergreens earns Best of Kentucky Award ahead of two-year anniversary
-
Maine32 minutes agoHow a tragedy changed the timeline — and the politics — of Maine’s Senate race – The Boston Globe
-
Maryland38 minutes agoMaryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’
-
Michigan44 minutes agoAIPAC draws ire of half of Michigan Democratic voters in new poll
-
Massachusetts50 minutes agoEditorial: Want to end poverty in Mass.? Don’t drive away wealthy
